China's New Gaming Restrictions May Drastically Reshape Country's Esports Scene

The Chinese government has implemented a new rule that drastically limits the amount of time young people can spend playing games — a move that is expected to have an impact on the country’s esports scene.

The new law has put forth stricter restrictions to game time in order to combat video gaming addiction among young people, South China Morning Post reported.

Previously, young Chinese gamers were able to play for a total of 90 minutes each day and three hours during legal holidays. Now, players below 18 years of age will only be able to play games between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. from Fridays to Sundays as well as holidays, according to new rules published Monday by China’s National Press and Publication Administration.

The outlet noted that players under 18 only account for a small portion of the revenue earned by Chinese gaming giants like Tencent and NetEase, which means that the new rule will have a relatively small effect from a business perspective.

However, the severely limited playtime could hamper the growth of potential players in the country’s extremely lucrative esports scene.

There are hundreds of esports teams in China that compete across a plethora of online games, with “Dota 2’s” competitive scene being the most populated in the country with 110 teams as of March, according to Statista. The country has also hosted many global tournaments in the past such as “Dota 2’s” The International and “League of Legends’” World Championship events.

Competitive esports games take considerable amounts of time to learn and even longer to master. To compete at the highest levels, players must spend long hours practicing and gaining experience. The new rule will prevent players under 18 from honing themselves until they reach the legal age.

Invictus Gaming became the first Chinese team to become the world champions of “League of Legends” back in the 2018 season. The team’s AD carry, Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo, was only 17 years old at the time, and he played a critical role that led to the team’s success in the tournament.

The new gaming restrictions in China may potentially lead to fewer young players like JackeyLove, assuming that the population’s perspective on gaming doesn’t dwindle in the first place.